Stress hormone in the context of "Growth hormone"

Epiphenomenalism is a philosophical theory on the mind–body problem in philosophy of mind. It holds that subjective mental events are completely dependent for their existence on corresponding physical and biochemical events within the human body, but do not themselves influence physical events. According to epiphenomenalism, the appearance that subjective mental states (such as thoughts and intentions) are causally effective themselves and directly influence physical events is an illusion generated by brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, with consciousness itself being a by-product of physical states of the world. For instance, the emotion of fear seems to make the heart beat faster, but according to epiphenomenalism the biochemical secretions of the brain and nervous system (such as the stress hormone adrenaline)—not the subjective experience of fear itself—is what causes the rapid rise in heartbeat. Because mental events are a kind of overflow that cannot cause anything physical, yet have non-physical properties, epiphenomenalism has traditionally been viewed as a form of property dualism. In contemporary thought, there are a number of epiphenomenalistic questions that arise within a broadly materialist monism.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone in the glucocorticoid class of hormones and a stress hormone. When used as medication, it is known as hydrocortisone.

Chronic stress is the physiological or psychological response induced by a long-term internal or external stressor. The stressor, either physically present or recollected, will produce the same effect and trigger a chronic stress response. There is a wide range of chronic stressors, but most entail relatively prolonged problems, conflicts and threats that people encounter on a daily basis. Several chronic stressors have been identified as associated with disease and mortality including "neighbourhood environment, financial strain, interpersonal stress, work stress and caregiving."

Stress responses, such as the fight or flight response, are fundamental. The complexity of the environment means that it is constantly changing. To navigate the surroundings, we, therefore, need a system that is capable of responding to perceived threatening and harmful situations. The stress response system thus has its role as an adaptive process to restore homeostasis in the body by actively making changes. For instance, the body will involve in an endocrine system response in which corticosteroids are released. This process is known as allostasis, first proposed by Sterling and Eyer (1988). Research has provided considerable evidence to illustrate the stress response as a short-term adaptive system. The immediate effects of stress hormones are beneficial in a particular short-term situation. The system is arguably a protective defense against threats and usually does not pose a health risk.